My experience of an Art Residency in Barcelona.

There’s something quite wonderful about being able to work 9 to 5, uninterrupted, for two whole weeks!

No juggling, no interruptions, no mental tabs left open somewhere else. In this blog post, I'm sharing some snippets from my time in January 2026.

The volume of work I produced still surprises me. I genuinely feel I made around three months’ worth of work in those two weeks. The days had a rhythm to them. I could start something, sit with it, abandon it, return to it, push it further, all without that familiar sense of interruption that so often shapes life back home. This experience alone would have made the residency worthwhile, but it went much deeper than that.

One of the most vital things for me was learning a completely new skill. I hadn’t quite anticipated how exciting and energising that would feel. I was taught by the brilliant artist and printmaker, Ariadna Abadal, whose parents, Jordy and Claudia own the Art Print Residence in the hills, around 30 minutes from Barcelona.

The residence has a wonderful workshop on the ground floor, filled with different printing presses, a giant paper bath, countless machines and a wealth of materials. I stayed in a twin room with an ensuite, in the artists apartment on the top floor, it had a shared kitchen and living area. Everything was perfect for my needs and I was so well looked after so I could focus purely on making art. I felt a real sense of vitality whilst I was there, the kind that comes from being stretched, challenged and curious all at once!

In the first week, I learned large-scale monoprinting, something I’d never done before. It was so interesting to be shown real examples of monoprints before we started and Ariadna explained just how diverse this process can be. I was shown different ways of mono-printing and had demonstrations on everything from how to roll out the ink, dampen the papers and work the presses. There was a definite protocol and I spent a couple of days really embedding the systematic process, which gave me time then to experiment with the techniques myself. I'd like to mention at this point the options were vast- every colour of ink you could imagine, every type of beautiful paper, so pretty soon into the week I was making definite choices about what I was going to be making.

I was particularly drawn to trace monoprinting. This is where the plate is inked, paper is laid over the top and you draw on the back of the paper using varying pressure. Once the drawing is finished, the paper is lifted to reveal the print — wherever you’ve drawn, marks appear on the surface. I loved the unpredictability of this method and the way the marks felt both intentional and yet, accidental.

From there, I went on to experiment with more expressive, water-based monoprints, eventually scaling up to work on a giant mechanical press. I also began experimenting with dried bamboo leaves gathered from outside the residency. These were placed onto a large inked plate and run through the press, and I was delighted by the graphic quality of the resulting images. Another technique I learned was Chine Colle, a technique that allows you to integrate fine japanese papers into the printmaking process.

What mattered, though, was that this new way of working didn’t pull me away from my existing practice. It felt like an extension of it as the same motifs kept surfacing: overlooked beauty, fragile botanicals, wildness, elements weathered by time. On reflection, the new processes were almost like finding another language to say the same things...

From the

In the second week, I was studying photo etching on polymer plates. This was a much more methodical process and involved spending time in the darkroom, using a variety of machines and working to precise timings. I selected photographs I’d taken the week before on my walks, and edited them in Photoshop so they were the right resolution for printing onto the photopolymer plates.

I found this process completely mesmerising. The plates themselves felt like works of art, strangely iridescent and I couldn’t wait to get them inked up and start printing. That’s exactly what I did, wholeheartedly, for the next three days and it felt incredibly liberating.

There’s something about the amount of work that goes into a single print; taking and editing the photograph, preparing the plate, dampening the paper, mixing the ink colour and working it into the plate, lining up the press and then suddenly, everything comes together in the space of a few minutes.

Photopolymer etching of plant forms by Claire Hankey

The studio itself was extraordinary. It was incredibly well resourced every colour of ink you could imagine, different types of inks, multiple presses. I could work at a huge scale, A0 and beyond, or shift right down to tiny, intimate prints. Having that freedom to move between scales and materials felt expansive.There were never more than three of us working in the studio at any one time, even though it was a large space. I had my own area where I could leave drawings out, keep my sketchbook open, spread things around.

One morning stands out in particular. A group of retired people came into the studio, all Spanish-speaking, They’d been coming to the studio for years and their work was absolutely beautiful. Watching them arrive together, settle into their places, quietly get on with their printmaking, it was deeply moving.

I met artists from all over the world while I was there. A lecturer from Poznań University in Poland, who I’m still in touch with. A photographer from New York, we took a photo etching course together and shared ideas and observations along the way. A French artist who was working in woodcut. Those conversations and glimpses into other practices and lives, became part of the residency too.

When I came home, I felt tired from all the hard work- mental and physical. I haven’t made much art in the two weeks since returning. At first, I questioned that, but I’ve come to realise I’ve been processing the experience; letting it settle, thinking about what it means and what I want to carry forward rather than rushing to produce more.

What I do know is...I'm hooked on printmaking! This week, I’ve viewed a printing press and will be renting it out, which means this new printmaking journey won’t be left behind.

More than anything, the residency confirmed something important about how I work. I like having different strands running alongside one another and I continue to love mixing processes and learning! While I understand the value of having a clear voice as an artist, for me that clarity doesn’t come from narrowing everything down to one medium. It comes from returning, again and again, to the same questions, even as the materials and processes shift. I’m giving myself permission to do that this year in the spirit of my word for the 2026 - 'Explore'.

In conclusion, the residency didn’t just give me time or skills or finished work. It gave me confidence in how I want to work going forward; slower when I need to be, experimental when it feels right and rooted in the things that have always mattered to me.

When my work arrives from The Art Print Residence, I’m looking forward to spending time with it properly, seeing it afresh and noticing whether it’s how I remember it, or something slightly different. I’m already beginning to think about how I might share this work over the coming year and where it might live beyond the studio.

Thanks for reading this, please do let me know if you've got any comments, questions or insights to

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